The present invention pertains to the an apparatus and method for testing a plumbing system and more particularly to a method for testing the integrity of a newly installed plumbing system and to a tool used in performing the method.
In residential house construction cad as is well known, the plumbing is basically installed in three stages, namely, the rough-in plumbing, top-out plumbing and finish plumbing. The rough-in plumbing occurs prior to pouring of concrete. Top-out plumbing follows framing the building and involves installing the pipes in the walls and vent pipes that extend up through the roof of the structure. Finish plumbing relates to setting toilets, sinks, and the like.
The rough plumbing includes laying a drain or waste pipe which leads from building to the city sewer main normally in the access street or road adjacent to the building. It is common practice to insert a clean-out in the drain pipe between the pipes in the building and the section of the drain pipe that leads to the sewer line. This clean-out may be located in a basement or, in a building without a basement, outside the building and underground. If underground, the clean-out has a branch extending to the surface of the ground for providing access to the drain pipe both during construction and during use of the building.
As is well known, in order to pass the rigid inspection normally imposed by building codes, it is necessary to test the drainage part of the plumbing system after the rough-in and top-out stages are finished. For this purpose, common procedures and devices are in use. The devices include test caps and inflatable test plugs, so-called water-weenies. In use, the test caps are sealed at the ends of all open and exposed branch pipes, and the inflatable test plugs are used in the clean-out where the passageway plugged is not as accessible. After the tests, the exposed test caps are punched out with a hammer, and the inflatable plugs are deflated and pulled out of the clean-out. Thus, the test plugs and the inflatable plugs can be removed without disassembling and disturbing the tested system.
As indicated, the test caps in above-ground, accessible locations are usually knocked out with a hammer, whereupon the fragments are pried out with a screwdriver or pliers. If a test cap were sealed in a clean-out, however, whether the clean-out is relatively accessible in a basement or whether it is underground, it cannot be punched out with a hammer and screwdriver without disassembling part of the system and thereby disturbing the tested system. Thus, test caps have not been used to block the test pressure in the drain pipe.
Instead, during the rough-in plumbing stage, the inflatable weenie-shaped, test plugs have been inserted in the clean-out, used for the tests, and subsequently removed with a pull chain attached to the plug and extending out of the clean-out. More specifically, to test the rough-in plumbing, the plug is inserted and inflated thereby sealing the drain pipe. The plumbing on the building side of the plug is then pressurized to check for leaks. After the top-out phase is completed, the plumbing is again tested by again inflating the plug, and pressurizing the system, usually by feeding water into the system through the vent pipes in the roof.
Use of such inflatable weenie plugs for the described testing has proved unsatisfactory for several reasons. The essential problem is that the plugs often leak although the plumbing may be entirely sound. Either the plug does not seal perfectly circumferentially within the pipe or the plug is punctured as it is being slid in or out of the clean-out and against the rough surfaces thereof. As a result, the test fails not because of faulty plumbing, but because of a faulty plug. The plumbing crew will then need to be called back to the job to attend to the problem, causing aggravation and extra expense to the contractors and owners involved. Not only is there extra labor cost involved, but the failed inflatable test plugs must be replaced at considerable expense.
A method and apparatus for testing a plumbing system in a more dependable and cost-effective manner is provided. During the rough-in plumbing phase of construction, the drain pipe leading from the plumbing system in a building to the city sewer main in the street is positively sealed off by a test cap or plug welded in the pipe at the location of the clean-out. Access to the test cap is maintained through the clean-out. Pressurizing the rough-in plumbing to test the same can then proceed knowing that if any leaks occur, they are in the branch plumbing on the building side of the test cap and not at or in the test cap. Following successful completion of the initial test, the top-out plumbing is completed, leaving the test cap welded in the clean-out or drain pipe. After the roof vents are in, the top-out test of the plumbing system is made, again knowing that if the system shows any leaks, they are the result of a failure in the plumbing work and not a failure of the test cap. After the plumbing system has passed final test and inspection, a special tool constructed in accordance with the present invention is inserted down the clean-out to penetrate and ream-out the test cap, so that the drain pipe is at substantially its normal inside diameter and provides a relatively full opening through which the waste can flow to the city sewer main in the street.
An object of this invention is to provide an improved method for testing a newly installed plumbing system and a tool used in performing the method.
Another object is to provide a more cost effective method for testing a newly installed plumbing system in a building.
A further object is to avoid having to re-test a plumbing system that would have passed the initial test but did not only because the test plug failed.
An additional object is to be able to test a newly installed plumbing system without using inflatable test plugs, so-called water weenies, to seal off the drain pipe while doing the testing and thereby to avoid the expense of frequently having to replace faulty plugs.
Yet another object is to be able positively to seal off a drain pipe in a plumbing system while pressurizing the system to test the system for leaks.
A still further object is to be able to remove a test plug that has been bonded in a drain pipe in a location that is accessible only thought a clean-out.
Another object is to provide a tool that can be extended into a clean-out and can remove plug or a portion thereof that has been bonded in a fluid-tight manner in a drain pipe to which the clean-out is connected.
Another object is to be able from a remote position to maneuver and guide a penetrating and reaming head of a tool inside a clean-out and into a position therein to penetrate and ream out a test cap welded in the clean-out.
Another object is to provide a tool for penetrating and reaming out a test cap out of a clean-out and that is adapted to attach penetrating and reaming heads of different sizes for different diameter pipes.
Another object is to provide a test cap-removing tool that is adapted to change its length depending on the distance between the test cap-to-be-removed and the location of the operator of the tool.
Another object to provide a test cap-removing tool that cooperates with a clean-out to leverage its operating head into an operating position and then allows the head to penetrate and ream out the test cap.
A further object is to enable a test plug that has been welded in fluid-tight relation in a drain pipe to be removed so that nearly the fill diameter of the drain pipe is available for conducting material therethrough after the plug has been removed.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reference to the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description.